Wardrobe suttcase



it a i.

DESFORD WJETBECK, F ST. L'UES, MISSOURI.

Application mea april 25,

Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new D 5. and useful Improvement in Wardrobe Suitcases, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such-as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appery tains to make and use the same.

Thisinvention relates tosuit cases.

The main object of my invention is to provide 'a practicable suit case of substantially the same size as the conventional suit case that has the principal desirable features and.`

characteristics of a wardrobe trunk, namely, means for holding one or more suits of -clothes in such a way as to prevent them from wrinkling when the suit case is in transit, and coat hangers from `which the suits can be suspended in a vertical position after the traveler has arrived athis destination. Other objects yand desirablefeatures of my invention willbe hereinafter pointed out. f

To this end I have deviseda suit case that risjequipped'with one or more coat hangers v for' receiving clothes, afsup-port for said hangers, and means whereby the operation of closing the suit case causes. the clothes or 3o suits on the hangers to be pressed against a portion of the suit caseand held in such a l way as to prevent them vfrom- Wrinkling.

rllhe suit case "is ,preferably composed of a,y number of sections connected together in such away that they can be opened out Hat or in longitudinal alignment with each other when the suit case'is being packed, and -susendedy in a vertical positionfrom a clothes ook in a closetv whenthe suit case is not 'in 40 transit. An extensible rail orsupport is preferably provided for the coat hangers,-

and' means are Jprovided for clampingthe suits at one point or exerting. pressure on l same and for bodily moving or shifting said a5 rail during the operation of 'closing the sit case, so as to draw the suits-taut or exert sufficient tension on same to takeup the slack and hold. the suits in such a way as to Vprevent them from wrinkling. v 5o Figure lof the drawings is a perspective view of a wardrobe .suit case constructed in .A of the suit .ease is provided with a handleA 1921. Serial No. 4%,403.

'accordance with my inventiom'illustrating how the vsuit case is intended tobe arranged when it is not in transit.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal sec'- 55 tional view of said suit case; andA Figure 3 is a transverse sectional' view, illustrating the suit case partly closed.

Referring to the drawings, which illus- 4 trate the preferredform of my invention, A, 6o A and B designate three sections connected togethery in such a manner thatl they can be, opened out flat ,or 'arranged 4in. longitudinal` alignment with each other, as shown inFigures 1 and 2, or arranged in' such a way that 65 the section B forms the bottom'of a suit case vwhose sides, top and end walls are formed by the sections A and A,"as shown in Figura` 3.' ln the form of my invention herein illustrated the sections A and A each forms 70 practically one half of the suit case and theJ intermediate section v,or bottom section B is connected to said side sections A. and A by hinges l. llyvish -it to be understood, howl ever,.that my inventionV is not limited to a 75 suit case composed of'sections of the particu lar kind herein 'illustrated as'the enclosing walls of the. suit case can be'formed in various other ways without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Thesuit case 1s equlpped with one or more coat hangers C and a supporting means or rail D is provided for said coat hangers, the supporting rail D being preferably of the extensible type and consisting of a yokeshaped member that depends from a bar 2 which is slidinglymouted in a slotted guide 3 in sucha manner that the rail l) can beA pulled forwardly into itsextended position, as shown inFigures land 2 when the suit 90 case is open loipushed inwardly into its r'etracted position, as shown in Figure 3, when the suit case is closed, The bar 2 is provided with a handle 2a thatA the usergrasps during the operation of extending and re# tracting the coat hanger rail, and the section K 4 thatis intended'to be used for carrying the suit case Aanfd also for suspending vthe suit'- ca sefin a vertical position from a clothes 4100 hook 5` in a closet when the. suitcase is open.

The 'oathanger-ral D isarra'nfged nsidei l of the suit case in such a way that the coat hangers C will extend lengthwise of the I section A in parallel relation to the side wall of said section, and means is provided for 5 bodily moving said rail D in such a manner during the operation of closing the suit case as to take up the slack in the suits mounted lon the hangers C. -This can be accomplished in various ways without departing from the spirit of my invention, but one' convenient way of effecting this bodilyrial and provided on its rear side orunder-- 'side with a plurality of strips 8 of flat spring material. yokeshaped member 6 pass through guides or loops 9 on the inside faces of the end walls of the section A, and the follower E that can be hooked over the coat hange rail D.

f To pack the vsuit case, the suits are first arranged on thef coat hangers C" and said hangers are then hooked onto the rail D, it being possible to arrange the hangers on said rail either when the suit case is sus pended in a vertical position, as shown in Figure 1, or spread out fiat on the floor, the distance between the top wall portionl of the section A and the top wallportion of the section A being considerably greater than the length of ya mans coat and the depth of the sectionA being suiiicient to accommodate a number of suits arranged one upon the other. After the coat hangers have been mounted on the rail `D, the follower E is placed upon the top suit and the rail D is pushed inwardly into itsretracted position shown in Figure '3.A Thereafter, the two,

sections A and A are moved towards each other, the bottom section" B acting as a l base or support on which the hinged sec- A approacheach other, the-section A. engages the free end of the follower E land exerts pressure onsaid follower in a direc` tion tending to cause the follower to press the suits against the bottom section B and also against the side wall of the section A. I Thereafter, as the sections A and A continue to move inwardly towards. each other, the -coat hangers exert an upward pull on 65 the suits, sufficient to automatically take up The side pieces of the.

is provided at its upper end with a hook 10 vthe slack produced by folding the suits, due,

of course, to the fact that the coat hangers are carried by the swinging yoke-shaped f member 6 which rocks on an axis located at one side of the longitudinal'center of the base section B against which the suits are being pressed by the follower E. By comparing Figures 2 and 3 it will bereadily seen how the draw is'obtained during the operation of closing the suit case, the cross piece ofthe yoke-shaped member 6 being considerably farther away from the top wall of the section A when the suit case isopen, as shown :in Figure 2, than it is` when they suit case is closed, or partially closed, as shown in -Figure 3. Any device or means that will vtend to clamp the suits against the bottom section B durlng the closing operation can be used in place of the follower E.

and while I have stated that the follower E is provided with flat springs 8, this is not essential. The essential thing is to equip the suit case with a means that tends to clarnpor exert pressure on the lower erd portions of the suits and mount the coat hangers in such 'a way that they will moveQ sijiiciently during the closing operation to. take up the slack in the suitsproduced by doubling or folding the suits.

In the form of my invention herein shown the yoke-shaped member is provided with a forwardly inclined brace 6a that is connected to the guide 3, so'as to prevent said guide from deflecting downwardly when the coat hanger rail D is in its extended position, but it will be obvious that any other suitable kind o f supporting structure for the coat hanger rail could `fbe used 'without departing from` the spirit of my* invention. The underclothing, handkerchiefs and other small articles of wearing apparel can be conveniently packed in a removable container F that can bearranged in the section A upon the lower end portions of the suits, or inthe Vspace between the lower ends ofthe. coats and the top wall of the section A.

A s'uit case of the construction above described will hold several suits in such a manner whenthe suit case is -in transit that the suits will not wrinkle, and when the traveler 4reaches his destination, he can open up theV suitI case and suspend it from a hook, thus enabling the suits to hang straight from coat hangers the same as -in a Wardrobe trunk.

Moreover, the railV on which the coat hangers are mounted can be extended the same as in a wardrobe trunk,`so as to permit the coat Xhangers to lere `easily removed from or mountedon said rail. The suit case is of practically the saine si'ze and Weight as the,12 conventional suit case, and as thereis suiicient space-inside of same to receive a rei movable container in which small articles of r'uearlng apparel, tollet articles, etc., can le packed, it has all ofthe advantages vof a sufficient tension to prevent the clothesfrom n wrinkling. .s l

2. A wardrobe suit case equipped with a coat hanger or other suitable clothes supporting; device, means for clamping ,the clothes against a portion of ther suit case, and means for bodily shifting said clothes supporting device in such a direction during the operation of closing the suit case that the clothes will be placed under suficient tension to prevent them from wrinkling.` l i 3. A suit case providedv with a coat hanger arranged in such a manner that'the coat thereon will be folded intermediate its ends during the operation of closing .the suit case, a resilient means for clamping the coat adjacent the point where it is folded,

. and means for bodily movingdsaid hanger so one of the side Walls ofthe'container, and

, a. y adapted to have a suit arranged therein with as to cause it to exert an endwise pull on the coat sulicient to take 'up the slack in the coatl and preven't it from wrinkling.

' 4. A wardrobe suit case, consisting of substantiallyy oblong-shaped container the back of the suit extending parallel to means for moving the suitrelatively to the container when the container is being closed.

so as to hold the suit under `suicientten sion to prevent it from wrinkling.

i 5. A Wardrobev suitcase, consistingof a clothes receptacle 'provided with a hinged or pivotally mounted portion on which a `coat can be arranged atwise, and means whereby the operation of closing said hinged portion causes the coat to be doubled or' folded over,

clamped yieldingly'against said portion and also moved bodily: withrelation to said`por tion so as to automatically take V11p the slack produced by folding the coats? 6. A wardrobe suit case, consisting of a clothes receptacle having a bottom and-a hinged or pivotally mounted side portion, a

.. coat hanger arranged in parallel relation to said side portion. and adapted'to have a suit mounted thereon, means that tends to clamp v.the suit against the bottom of the receptacle when the receptacle is closed, and means for moving said coat hanger relatively to said side portion in such a way during the operationof' closing the receptacle 'that the suilt will be subjected to a slight endwise pu l.

y 7. A wardrobe suitcase composedu'of a plurality of sectionsconnected with each. other in such a." manner that they can'be opened.. out flat or arranged in longitudinal alignment with each other, coat hangers or vother suitable clothes supporting devices arranged one of said sections, and means whereby the operation Aof closing the suit case shifts-said hangers and thus causes the clothes thereon to be stretched slightly and held under sufficient tension to prevent them from wrinkling.

8.' A wardrobe suit case, comprising a plurality of sectibns connected together in such a manner thatu they can be opened out flat or arranged in longitudinal alignment with each other,. a coat hanger on which a suit can be arranged, resilient means for clamping the lower portion of the suit against one -section ofp thesuit case when it is being closed, and means for bodily shifting the coat hanger in such a direction with relation to said section during the closing operation as to 'stretch the suit lengthwise and prevent the suit from wrinkling. i

9. A wardrobe suit case, comprising a plurality of sections connected together in such a way that they. canbe arranged in longitudinal alignment with each other and sus# lpended in a vertical position from a supporting device, coat hangers arra'nged in the upper section, and means for automatically shifting said coat hangers bodily with relation to said section duringfthe operation of closing the suit case, for the purpose described.

10. A wardrobe suit case, comprising a plurality of sections connected together in such a way that they extendin longitudinal alignment with each other when the suit case is open and at an angle to each other 4when the suit case is closed, coat hangers in one of said sections, a'shiftable means that carries said coat hangers, and a follower for clampv ing the clothes against one of saidl sections ,when the suit case is in itsl closed condition and means for bodily moving said coat hanger carrying means during the operationv of closing the suit case.,

1l. AY wardrobe suit case, comprising a bottom -section `and two side sections hinged together, coat hangers arranged in one of said side sections, a supporting means for said coat hangers pivotally connected to the bottom section of the suit case, and means on one of said side sections for swinging said means into an upright position during the operation lof closing the suit case. Y

,'12. A wardrobe suit case, comprising a bottom section and tWo side sections pivotally connected together, a supporting structure pivotally connected to said bottom section and provided ywith coat hangers, and a sliding connection between one of said side sections and said 'supporting structure that causes said structure to swing into an upright position during the operation of closing the suit case.

.13.,A wardrobe suit case, comprising a bottom section and two side Sections pivotally connected together, a sup orting struc` l will be flexed into substantially U-shape, thus causing it to exert Ipressure on the 'clothes when said side sections arebrought together, said follower consisting of a sheet of flexible material provided with iiat springs.

, 15. A. wardrobe suit case, comprising a bottom section, two side'sections pivotally connected to said bottom section, a substantially yoke-shaped member pivotally connected to said bottom section and arranged in one of said side sections, slidin connections between said side section an 'the side pieces of said yoke-shaped member an extensible' coat han er rail carried by said yoke-shaped mem er, and a follower arranged so thatl it will exert pressure on the clothes when the two side sections ofthe suit case are brought together.

nEsFoRD WITBECK. 

